Medical Marijuana

Georgia’s Senate has given unanimous approval to House Bill 885, a proposal to legalize cannabis oil for medical purposes. The measure passed the state’s House of Representatives earlier this month with an 171 to 4 vote.

Under the bill, academic medical centers in the state would be permitted to produce low-THC cannabis oil, which they would be authorized to distribute to those with cancer, glaucoma and seizures. The measure would also provide protection from arrest for anyone in possession of cannabis oil that was obtained from another state, as long as they have a recommendation from a physician.

Advocates of the measure acknowledge that it doesn’t go far enough (the whole plant, not just low-THC cannabis oil, should be legal), it’s still a major step in the right direction, and will help thousands of people in the state.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Allen Peake and supported by the Medical Association of Georgia, now heads back to the House for one final vote, before going to the governor.

When cannabis is spoken about, there are two main compounds that are always mentioned. Both CBD and THC are the main substances in cannabis that treat diseases and other afflictions. But there are over 500 of these amazing compounds found in cannabis so why does everyone always just seem to want to talk about these two? This blog will go over the importance of the substance contained in cannabis known as CBN, another amazing part of the cannabis plant that's seriously underrated and should definitely be mentioned more!

So what exactly is CBN? It's cannabinol. Like the THC that marijuana contains, CBN is also psychoactive, contributing about 10% of the psychoactive properties of the plant. When THC and CBN are present in higher levels, the CBN seems to actually reduce the paranoia and anxiety often associated with getting stoned. It also causes the user to feel less "messed up" and provides a clearer high but ingest too much and you may end up feeling groggy. This, however, can be great for those suffering from insomnia and that need help getting a good night's rest.

Getting higher levels of CNB in your plants as a grower isn't that tough and should definitely be considered when planting your babies! When exposed to air or UV light for a long period of time, the THC in the plant turns in to CBN. Waiting a little bit longer to harvest the plants will also yield buds with a higher CBN content, when the trichomes have turned a more amber color rather then the usual white/clear. Buds that are exposed to more air during the drying/curing process are also known to have higher levels of CBN.

CBN has a great many benefits, just like CBD and THC. Getting buds with a higher CBN content is definitely all growers should try at one point in time and users should definitely seek out buds higher in CBN simply to give them a shot. Cannabis can help will all kinds of problems and these compounds are what make it so. Knowing what they do and how they effect people when ingested is important! CBN is just as important as THC and CBD when it comes to marijuana.

Could marijuana help treat post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans? New research aims to find out.

The U.S. government has signed off on a long-delayed study looking at marijuana as a treatment for military veterans with PTSD, a development that drug researchers are hailing as a major shift in U.S. policy.

The study will measure the effects of five different potencies of smoked or vaporized marijuana in treating symptoms of PTSD in 50 veterans.

The Department of Health and Human Services' decision surprised marijuana advocates who have struggled for decades to secure federal approval for research into the drug's medical uses.

The proposal from the University of Arizona was long ago cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, but researchers had been unable to purchase marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The agency's Mississippi research farm is the only federally-sanctioned source of the drug.

In a letter last week, HHS cleared the purchase of medical marijuana by the studies' chief financial backer, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which supports medical research and legalization of marijuana and other drugs.

"MAPS has been working for over 22 years to start marijuana drug development research, and this is the first time we've been granted permission to purchase marijuana from NIDA," the Boston-based group said in a statement. The federal government has never before approved medical research involving smoked or vaporized marijuana, according to MAPS.

A spokesman for the group said organizers have called off a protest over the stalled study that was planned for later this year.

While more than 1 million Americans take medical marijuana -- usually for chronic pain -- rigorous medical research into the drug's effects has been limited, in part due to federal restrictions.

Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance under the federal government's Controlled Substance Act, meaning it has no medical use and has high potential for abuse.

A researcher at the University of Arizona is a step closer to studying how medical marijuana affects veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Although there is a "mountain of anecdotal evidence" that marijuana helps with PTSD, there has been no controlled trial to test how marijuana suppresses the symptoms, including flashbacks, insomnia and anxiety, said Suzanne Sisley, the study's lead researcher.

Sisley's study proposal has wound its way through the federal government for three years. In 2011, she received approval by the Food and Drug Administration. On Friday, the study cleared a major hurdle when the Public Health Service, part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, gave its approval.

Now Sisley is waiting on approval from a third and final agency — the Drug Enforcement Administration — before she can start her research. It's unclear how long the DEA will take. The DEA has not immediately responded to USA TODAY Network for comment.

Sisley's 10-week study will examine 50 veterans with moderate to severe symptoms of PTSD, using marijuana from the federal government's only marijuana farm at the University of Mississippi.

The study participants will receive marijuana with five varying amounts of the active ingredient, THC — anywhere from the placebo of no THC to 12% THC. The study will also examine the differences between smoking the drug versus vaporizing it.

"It's hopefully a great starting point to begin to uncover some innovative ways of treating PTSD," Sisley told USA TODAY Network.

The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 11-20% of troops​ who served in Iraq or Afghanistan have PTSD. About 7.7 million Americans are estimated to have the disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Sisley's study could open the way to the development of a prescription drug based on the whole marijuana plant, said Brad Burge, spokesman for Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which is funding the study.

Inhaling whole-plant cannabis provides symptomatic relief in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to observational trial data published in the March/April edition of the journal Clinical Neuropharmacology. Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system that results in tremor, slowed movement, and muscle rigidity.

Researchers reported that inhaled cannabis was associated with “significant improvement after treatment in tremor, rigidity, and bradykinsea (slowness of movement). There was also significant improvement of sleep and pain scores. No significant adverse effects of the drug were observed.”

They concluded: “[T]his observational study is the first to report an amelioration of both motor and non-motor symptoms in patients with PD treated with cannabis. The study opens new venues for treatment strategies in PD especially in patients refractory to current medications.”

Israel has formally allowed for the licensed production and distribution of the substance for therapeutic purposes since 2011.

The Maryland House of Delegates approved legislation Monday intended to make it possible for patients to use medical marijuana, which was legalized last year but remains unavailable in the state.

Delegates voted 127 to 9 to allow “certified physicians” to discuss the option of medical marijuana with patients and then recommend its use. Those patients or their caregivers could obtain a 30-day supply from a licensed grower. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where approval is expected.

The bill was one of dozens approved by the House on Monday during a marathon meeting ahead of a “crossover” deadline, after which legislation that has not been approved by either the House or the Senate has longer odds of being passed before the legislative session ends in early April.

Delegates also voted in favor of expanding pre-kindergarten classes to include more children, providing more oversight of the implementation of new education standards and “shielding” certain criminal records from the public record with the aim of making it easier for former convicts to get jobs.

The Senate convened Monday evening with its own full agenda that included bills that would boost annual tax credits given to movie and television companies that film in the state and require restaurants to urge patrons to alert their servers about any known food allergies the customers have before their orders are taken.